


Now Is the Time for You and I to Cuddle Close Together

by castles_and_crowns



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, No Angst, Reconciliation, Rey and Ben are amicably divorced and co-parenting their daughter, Reylo kid fic, all fluff, halloween fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27128761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castles_and_crowns/pseuds/castles_and_crowns
Summary: Every year on Halloween, Rey and Ben take their seven year old daughter trick-or-treating and then eat cake after to celebrate Rey's birthday, despite the two being amicably divorced for five years. This year, though, may be the year Rey and Ben finally find their way back to each other.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 26
Kudos: 131





	Now Is the Time for You and I to Cuddle Close Together

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy this fluffy af Halloween kid fic based on the [reylo_prompts'](https://twitter.com/reylo_prompts) tweet: "Exes to Lovers: Rey and Ben are amicably divorced and coparent their young daughter and eventually find their way back to each other."

Rey’s eyes light up in delight as her seven year old daughter answers the door.

“You look great, sweetheart!” she exclaims, taking in her daughter’s elaborate Halloween costume as she steps inside the house.

“Me and Daddy saw it on the computer!” Mari explains.

Mari is wearing a very impressive, likely very expensive, costume of Queen Aladima, the main female character in the Galaxy Wars prequels, a series both Rey and her daughter adore. 

Rey kneels down in the foyer to give her daughter a hug.

“Happy Birthday,” Mari says as she wraps her little arms around Rey.

Rey squeezes her daughter extra tight, careful not to mess up her costume. “Thank you.”

As they’re pulling back from the hug, heavy footsteps approach and another, much deeper voice, greets them.

“Hey, birthday girl.”

Rey stands and meets her ex-husband’s gaze and smiles warmly. “Hey, Ben.”

Ben steps forward to close the distance between them. They hug and he places a quick kiss to her cheek, as she takes in the familiar, comforting smell that has always emanated from him since they met in college a decade earlier.

When they pull apart, his eyes do a quick scan, starting at her fishnet-clad legs, up to the black dress that falls mid-thigh, and finishing at the black witch hat atop her head. It doesn’t escape her notice that his gaze stutters for a second on her legs, and she bites back a flattered smile.

“Have you had a good day so far?” 

“It’s been good.” She then glances over at her daughter, “But I’ve been waiting all day to go trick-or-treating with you guys.”

“And have cake!” Mari adds excitedly. 

Rey smacks her own forehead. “And have cake! How could I forget?”

“It’s chocolate,” Ben winking.

_ Of course, it is,  _ Rey thinks fondly. They have chocolate cake every year on her birthday. It’s her favorite, after all.

This whole evening has become a tradition for the family of three. Though amicably divorced for five years, Rey, Ben, and their daughter have spent Halloween trick-or-treating and having cake afterward to celebrate Rey’s birthday, which happens to be the same day every year.

Mari tugs on Ben’s shirt.

“Can we go now since she’s here? I don’t want to miss the good candy!”

Ben chuckles. “Go get your trick-or-treat bag and my hat, and then we’ll head out?”

He glances at Rey to make sure that’s okay with her.

Rey nods. “Sounds good to me.”

Mari runs off in the direction of her room, leaving Ben and Rey in the foyer alone.

She takes in his jeans, red checkered shirt, and boots, and smirks. “A cowboy again?”

“It’s tried and true.”

She laughs, causing him to smile. Her eyes are immediately drawn to his dimples, the same ones he passed on to their daughter.

“Mari’s costume is great by the way. And looks very expensive,” Rey says, not accusing but definitely raising an eyebrow.

“I saw it online and showed it to her. Of course, she loved it, so I couldn’t resist getting it,” Ben tells her. He loves Galaxy Wars too. It was one of the initial things he and Rey bonded over when they met during freshman year of college.

Rey snorts. “I probably don’t even want to know how much it cost, do I?”

“You probably don’t,” he confirms. “She looks great in it though, doesn’t she?”

“She looks amazing. And the costume is practically a mini replica.”

“Apparently some of the kids in school didn’t like it, but that’s just because they don’t have any taste.”

“They didn’t like it?” she asks, upset on Mari’s behalf.

“Apparently some of them told her the prequels were stupid and that no one likes them. She was kind of upset when she got home, so I told her that the three of us could maybe watch some of it after we go trick-or-treating. That is, if you don’t have other plans?”

“The only plans I have are with you two. There’s no place I’d rather be on my birthday.”

He smiles at her words, and Rey’s amazed that even though they’ve been divorced for five years, she still gets weak in the knees sometimes when he smiles that soft, crooked smile.

“I’m ready!” Mari shouts from down the hallway as she sprints toward them. She hands Ben his brown cowboy hat, which he proudly places on his head.

An idea then strikes Rey as she looks down at her eager daughter. Her costume is perfect, but there’s something she’s lacking.

“Almost ready,” Rey says, pulling her purse off her shoulder and digging through it to find what she’s looking for.

_ Ah, perfect _ , she thinks as she pulls out a tube of cherry red lipstick.

She bends down in front of her daughter and paints her top lip with the bright red color and then draws a vertical line on her bottom lip.

“There we go.”

Rey caps the lipstick and sticks it back in her purse.

“The perfect touch,” Ben compliments. He digs in the pocket of his jeans “Let me get a picture before we head out.”

“Great idea,” Rey agrees, also grabbing for her phone.

“ _ Mom! Dad! _ ” Mari whines. “Can’t we do that  _ after _ ?”

“Nope. We’re doing it now,” Ben tells her. “Now strike your most regal pose.”

“Regal?” 

“Your most  _ queenly  _ pose,” Rey clarifies.

Mari straightens her posture and puts her hands on her hips, clearly her idea of how a queen should pose, and Rey and Ben each snap a few pictures.

***

Ben’s neighborhood is much nicer than Rey’s, not to mention, it’s filled with families. While Rey lives in a perfectly fine neighborhood, the majority of her neighbors have lived there since the seventies and eighties and are, therefore, middle-aged to elderly. Ben’s subdivision, however, is relatively new and filled with families that have kids. 

Families of all shapes and sizes are out in the subdivision tonight trick-or-treating, and Rey delights in seeing Mari excitedly greet her neighbors, she and Ben sharing small smiles each time their daughter waves to a neighbor. And when Mari spots a neighborhood kid dressed as Darth Laum, another character from the prequel movies, she loses her mind.

“Look! He’s dressed as Darth Laum!” Mari shrieks, pointing at the kid across the street who is dressed all in back and wearing a blue and black face mask with horns sticking out of the top.

“We should get a picture of the two of them,” Rey suggests to Ben. “Do you know them?”

“They live about a block down. The wife is on the school board, and I think the husband might be an attorney.”

“They’re nice?”

Ben shrugs. “Never heard anything bad about them.”

“Great, I’m going to go ask,” Rey says, immediately jogging across the street.

The parents of the boy, who looks to be about one or two years older than Mari, excitedly agree, and the four of them make their way across the street together.

When they reach Ben and Mari, Ben extends his hand to the husband and wife. “Hi, Ben Solo. This is Mari.”

As they’re shaking heads, Rey adds, “She was so excited to see someone else dressed as a prequels’ character.”

“Oh, Dylan loves the prequels,” the wife, whose name is Liz, states as she directs her child to stand beside Mari.

For her part, Mari suddenly looks shy. Her eyes fall to her feet, and she doesn’t seem nearly as excited to be standing next to the boy as she had when she saw him from across the street. The boy, Dylan, also looks uncomfortable, and a small jolt of guilt shoots through Rey’s belly as she wonders whether she should have checked with her daughter first before calling this family over.

Ben, who has taken his phone out, clearly doesn’t notice as he encourages the kids to smile and begins snapping pictures. Rey’s phone is four models older than his, so she figures she’ll just ask him to send her the pictures he takes, as they will be much better quality.

“You’ve got a great costume, my man,” Ben says, bending over to shake Dylan’s hand. Rey smiles to herself because sometimes he’s such a  _ dad. _

Dylan shyly takes Ben’s hand and, mumbling to him while still not meeting Mari’s eyes, says, “Her’s is cool too.”

“What do you say, Mari?” Ben prompts.

“Thank you,” she responds in a low voice, eyes cast on the concrete.

“And thank you for letting us get a picture together,” Rey adds, looking from Dylan to his parents.

After pleasant goodbyes, Dylan and his parents make their way back across the street, and Rey, Ben, and Mari continue making their way through the neighborhood trick-or-treating.

“Maybe we should have asked Mari first if she wanted to take a picture with that little boy?” Rey comments as Mari leaves them to approach a door.

“What do you mean?” Ben asks.

“I think we made her a little uncomfortable.”

Ben frowns thoughtfully for a few seconds and then says, “I think she’ll appreciate it when she’s older.” And as Mari comes running back to them, eyes wide and holding a full-sized Milky Way candy bar in her hand, he adds, “And look, she’s already forgotten about it.”

Rey lets out a small laugh, conceding that Ben’s probably right on this one.

***

When they return to the house, Mari dumps all of her candy on the cream carpeted floor in the living room, ready to go through it with her parents.

“Mari, don’t you want cake first?” Ben asks, as he and Rey stand in the threshold between the kitchen and living room.

Reminded that there’s cake, Mari’s eyes light up. “ _ Yes! _ ”

She rushes to the kitchen, joining her parents around the round breakfast table. Ben unboxes the circular chocolate cake that, in dark green icing, reads  _ Happy Birthday, Mommy! _

“Looks delicious, you guys. Thank you!”

“Daddy, get the candles!” Mari instructs impatiently, causing Rey and Ben to both laugh.

“Okay, patience, sweetheart,” Ben answers, going to the cabinet and pulling out a small box of candles and a lighter. 

He opens the small, rectangular box and begins counting. “Four, five...Rey, I think we’re about twenty-something candles short.”

Rey chuckles and shoves his shoulder. “Oh, hush.”

Mari’s brow furrows at their joke. “Mommy, how old  _ are  _ you?”

“I’m twenty-eight today, darling.”

“That’s  _ so old _ .”

“Not as old as your dad. He’s almost twenty-nine!”

Mari’s shock has them continuing to chuckle as Ben places four candles on the cake.

“Alright, are we going to sing?” Ben asks, lifting Mari into his arms.

“Yes!” she exclaims.

Being the recipient of a rendition of  _ Happy Birthday _ is almost always an awkward experience, but when it’s sung lovingly by a daughter and ex-husband, Rey finds that no song is sweeter.

At the end of the song, she looks at Mari and quirks an eyebrow. “Want to help me blow out the candles?”

Mari nods enthusiastically. 

With Mari still in his arms, Ben crouches down a little so that she can assist Rey in blowing the candles out. Once they’re extinguished, Rey opens her arms to hug Mari, and by extension, Ben.

“Thank you,” she says while in their embrace.

She never had birthday celebrations, big or small, growing up. Prior to meeting Ben at nineteen, birthdays were just like any other day. But befriending Ben changed that. Even before they started dating as juniors in college, Ben always made sure Rey’s birthdays were special. And thankfully, that didn’t change once they got divorced.

After cake, Ben puts on one of the Galaxy Wars films, and he and Rey sit on the floor with Mari, going through the candy to ensure it hasn’t been tampered with.

With each piece of candy they approve, Mari gets to put the piece in one of two piles: eat now or save for later. Ben sets a hard limit of only allowing Mari to put seven pieces in the _ eat now  _ pile. Personally, Rey would have let her have more, but technically, this is Ben’s night and she’s not going to argue with him on that.

Ultimately, Mari doesn’t even make it through her pile of  _ eat now  _ candy. She crashes from all the sugar about halfway through the movie and passes out on the couch against Ben’s shoulder. When Rey notices, she whispers Ben’s name to get his attention and her eyes shoot downward at Mari. Ben looks down and smiles.

“It’s past her bedtime anyway. Let’s tuck her in, and then how do you feel about finishing the movie?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rey responds quietly, rising from the couch.

Standing, Ben gently lifts Mari into his arms and carries her up the stairs to her room with Rey following right behind. Mari’s room at Ben’s house is nearly twice the size of her room at Rey’s, and yet Ben has made sure not to overdo it with toys and trinkets. Mari has practically the same amount of toys at Ben’s house as she does at Rey’s. 

Ben has lots of money and his love for Mari is endless, and Rey knows it’d be so easy to spoil her. She also isn’t naive to the fact that some divorced parents attempt to win their child’s affection by trying to outdo the other, and Rey knows it’d be no contest between her and Ben. Rey may have a good job, but Ben could still spend circles around her. But he’s never done that either. While they’ve never talked about it outright, Rey knows Ben well enough to know he’s cognizant of all of this, and she can’t help but be grateful to him for it.

Communicating with just their eyes, they decide to forgo changing Mari into her pajamas and allow her to sleep in her costume. Rey pulls back the covers and Ben carefully lays Mari down on the bed, pressing a kiss to her forehead before stepping out of the way for Rey to do the same. She does, and then she pulls the covers back over Mari.

Together, Rey and Ben walk back downstairs, take their spots on the couch, and resume the movie.

“Tonight was a lovely night, Ben,” Rey says as the iconic theme music begins to play and the credits roll. “I’m so grateful that we always do this as a family.” 

Ben smiles, but it’s softer and more contemplative than usual.

“What?” she asks.

He shakes his head, in a way that’s meant more for himself than her, and says, “Do you ever look at nights like tonight and wonder…”

He trails off, and Rey quirks an eyebrow. 

“Wonder what?”

“Wonder why...we separated in the first place?”

She smiles ruefully in response. “All the time.”

Ben looks down at his lap and chuckles. In a soft, non-accusatory voice, he says, “You’re the one who left me.”

“Ben,” she all but whispers, taking one of his hands from his lap and holding it in her own. “You were putting your job before our marriage. Never,  _ never _ before Mari, something I’m exceedingly grateful for, but always before  _ us _ . And we were already so young to begin with, and we only decided to get married because I got pregnant, and things were so much harder than I thought, and I was struggling with all these new roles that were expected of me, and you weren’t--”

“You have no idea how much I regret not being there,” he says, apparently already knowing where she was going in her speech. “I lost sight of things, lost sight of you. I should have listened when you told me you were struggling. I took you for granted, and I am  _ so sorry _ , Rey.”

“I forgive you,” she tells him gently. “I forgave you a long time ago. You were always too good of a father to Mari for me not to forgive you.”

“She’s my whole world.”

Rey squeezes his hand. “I know.”

“Rey...” Ben begins hesitantly, squeezing her hand back.

“What?”

“After I quit working for Snoke, I came so close to asking you to take me back.”

She inhales a sharp breath. “Why didn’t you?”

“I was scared you’d tell me no.”

Rey turns her body on the couch so that she can face him fully. She lets go of his hand and, instead, begins caressing his cheek.

“I would very much like for you to ask me again.”

“Ask you..?” he trails off, half in disbelief.

“To take you back.”

Ben’s eyes go wide at her words and he lets out a shaky exhale.

Swallowing hard, he looks into her eyes and asks, “Would you take me back, Rey?”

Rey’s other hand comes up to Ben’s face so that she’s cradling his face.

“Yes, Ben,” she answers softly. “Of course.”

His eyes are as bright as the sky on the Fourth of July and he lets out a little disbelieving chuckle, as though he can’t believe she said yes even though she  _ asked him  _ to ask her. Then, without wasting any more time, he leans forward, closing the distance between them, and presses his lips gently to hers.

It’s the first time they’ve kissed in _years_ and maybe Rey’s daydreamed about it on the occasional late night when she couldn’t sleep, and _maybe_ she’d thought it would have taken a few moments to relearn each other, but apparently the phrase _just like riding a bike_ can apply to kissing your ex-husband.

“Stay,” he breathes against her lips when they pull apart.

“Stay?” she repeats, pulling apart a little more, though her arms are still wrapped around him. In a gentle, scolding voice, she continues, “Ben, you know I can’t do that. Mari is an early riser, and she can’t wake up and find us together.”

His eyes sort of clear and he realizes she’s right.

“I know,” he sighs, leaning in to press a quick peck to her lips, before starting to leave a trail down her jaw to her neck. Rey swears it’s like a switch has been flipped on. Suddenly, all the restraint she suspects Ben’s been exhibiting since their divorce has melted away. “But you can stay for a little while right?”

She laughs, but then that laugh turns into a little moan as he finds a particular sensitive spot on which to press his lips.

“We should take this slow,” Rey says, the sane part of her brain trying to take over all the while her body is lighting with sparks with each press of his lips and each caress of his hands.

“We did that already,” Ben reminds, his hand sliding up her thigh. The warmth of his palm feels both peculiar but also really nice when it runs against her fishnets. “The first two years of our friendship, we took it slow.”

“We weren’t together yet.”

He pulls back again to meet her eyes. “But we wanted to be.”

There’s a quick pause and then she smiles, letting a tiny, conceding smile play on her lips. “We did.”

“The restraint I practiced while I waited for you to figure out your own feelings,” he huffs out a laugh. “God, Rey, there wasn’t one moment since I met you that I didn’t want to be with you. And there hasn’t been one moment since the divorce where I didn’t want you either.”

“I felt the same, Ben,” she agrees earnestly. “I  _ feel  _ the same.”

“Then stay.  _ Please _ . Just for a little bit. Then one day soon, we can let Mari stay over at my parents’, and you can stay the night.”

Rey bites her lip and nods not quite shyly. “Okay.”

He stands then and offers her his hand, assisting her off the couch. Hand-in-hand they make their way up the stairs and down the hall toward Ben’s bedroom. They keep smiling and giggling at each other, and Rey’s heart is thumping aggressively against her ribcage in anticipation.

Once in his bedroom, they fall onto his king-sized bed, content to just kiss on top of the comforter for a little while and let their hands explore long untouched but not forgotten territory. Eventually, Rey’s fingers begin to itch to remove clothing so that they can get skin to skin, and she starts at the buttons of Ben’s checkered shirt. Once that’s removed, she quickly takes off his undershirt. It’s then Ben’s turn, and just as he starts to unzip her black dress, a knock on the door causes him to freeze in his motions.

They share a panicked look before Rey reaches behind her to rezip herself, while Ben hastily pulls his undershirt back over his head and makes his way to the bedroom door. Sparing one last look back at Rey, he opens the door.

“Daddy?” Mari’s quiet, fretful voice calls. She then sees Rey behind him and adds, “Mommy?”

“Hey, sweetheart,” Ben says, kneeling to her level.

“I had a bad dream,” she sniffles, her chin trembling.

“A bad dream?” Ben repeats, running a hand down her unruly black curls, made even more riotous by sleep.

“Darth Laum was chasing us around the house, and, Daddy, you tried to fight him, but he killed you just like the man in the movie.”

She bursts into tears, and Ben pulls her into a hug as Rey joins them at the door.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Rey comforts.

“I’m here. Nobody killed me,” Ben adds. “Remember, Darth Laum isn’t real. He’s just in the movie.”

“I know,” Mari responds tearfully. “But it was so scary!”

“I know, baby, I know,” Ben says. 

Something then seems to occur to Mari, and her traumatized expression transforms into one of perplexion.

“Mommy, why are you still here?”

Rey and Ben turn to each other for a brief moment and share a somewhat guilty look.

“I was...just showing Mommy the new sheets you helped me pick out,” Ben says. The words fall from his mouth like he’s trying them out, and Rey has to hold back a snort because Ben’s never been a good liar and that is a  _ terrible  _ lie.

Fortunately, Mari is still at the age where she believes everything her parents say. Add on top of that, the current distraction of her nightmare, and Rey knows that Ben’s lie was an easy sell.

“Daddy wanted to get black ones, but I liked the blue and white stripes more,” Mari says, her voice taking on a more solid tone.

“They’re very nice,” Rey tells her.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” their daughter then asks her dad. “Mommy lets me stay with her sometimes when it’s raining or when I’ve had a bad dream.”

Ben looks at Rey, and a silent conversation passes between them. Rey smiles softly and gives a little nod.

“You can,” Ben tells her. “You can snuggle up between me and your mom.”

“Mommy, you’re staying?”

Rey nods and presses a quick kiss to her daughter’s nose. “Yes, I want to test out these fantastic sheets.”

Unlike Rey, Ben is unable to hold back a chuckle, but fortunately, it goes unnoticed by Mari, who announces she’s going to grab her teddy bear and will be right back.

“I know we didn’t want her to find us in bed together, but--”

“But this is different, sort of,” Rey finishes for him.

“Yeah,” he replies, smiling.

“And I guess we’ll have to save what we had planned for another night.”

Ben’s smile becomes a little bit wicked then, and he says, “Which is probably better because then we won’t have any time limits or have to worry about how loud we can be.”

Rey blushes and pushes at his shoulder as they both stand.

Mari returns moments later, teddy bear in hand, and immediately jumps in the bed, and after changing into pajamas--Rey’s are courtesy of Ben, of course--Rey and Ben join their daughter in bed, bracketing her in.

Ben turns to his bedside table, switching off the lamp, before pressing his lips to Mari’s forehead. Rey does the same to the crown of her head.

Thankfully, it seems that all that needs to be done to chase away any residual fear of Darth Laum is for Mari to snuggle between her parents. She falls asleep in under five minutes, and when she does, Ben takes Rey’s hand that had been resting on Mari’s back and tangles his fingers with hers.

Her eyes have adjusted enough in the darkness that she can find his eyes, and when she does, she gives his hand a little squeeze.

“Happy birthday,” he mouths to her so as not to wake up Mari.

“Thank you,” she mouths back.

His voice rises to a whisper as he adds, “I hope it was a good one.”

“It’s been the best one since you first bought me a chocolate cake and brought it to my dorm freshman year,” she responds, making sure to keep her voice low.

“I promise you, Rey, that the three of us will have chocolate cakes on Halloween for the rest of our lives.”

They fall asleep that night, their slumbering daughter still between them, with their hands clasped together on top of her small back. As Rey drifts to sleep, she thinks about Ben’s promise to her. And while she has a very good feeling about what’s in store for Ben and her, his simple promise of family and chocolate cake every year on her birthday means more than anything else.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the bastardization of Queen Amidala and Darth Maul's names. Also, I dressed up as Queen Amidala for Halloween when I was a kid and some boy in my neighborhood had dressed up as Darth Maul, and my mom MADE us take a picture together, which made me--a very shy six year old--very uncomfortable. But now as an adult, I'm so grateful to have that pic!
> 
> If you liked this, please check out my two WIPs [When the Rain Washes You Clean, You'll Know](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26887456/chapters/65606287) and [Falling for Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26021473/chapters/63272530)


End file.
